


Double Feature

by dorcas_gustine



Category: Marvel
Genre: 616 - Freeform, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-04-03
Updated: 2009-04-03
Packaged: 2017-10-02 06:59:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dorcas_gustine/pseuds/dorcas_gustine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve sees faster. Tony makes some arrangements.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Double Feature

**Author's Note:**

> This fic came out of nowhere when Steve's 'I see faster' (from v4 of CA) and Extremis being an alternative to the Super Soldier Serum collided together in my brain. It's gen and rated G. Shocking.
> 
> Betaed by jazzypom on lj.

"Hey," Tony greeted as Steve came into the kitchen, his breath only slightly heavier after his morning jog.

"Hey yourself," Steve replied as he made his way to the fridge. He shot a look at the clock on the opposite wall. "It's seven thirty in the morning, Tony, don't tell me you were up all night."

"I wasn't up all night," Tony said automatically.

Steve poured himself a glass of orange juice. He was about to put the carton back in the fridge when he changed his mind and took another glass from the cupboard. He filled that one to the brim too and walked to the table. He placed one glass in front of Tony, next to his cup of coffee. "You're lying," he said and drank from his glass.

"Are you taking lessons from Jarvis?" Tony asked, but his hand went to the orange juice. "And I'm not lying. Technically."

Steve rolled his eyes. "_Tony_."

"I wasn't up all night," Tony protested, "I crashed in the workshop until about four."

And then he'd likely gone straight to work on his armor. Steve had overheard him telling Hank about some glitches in the suit targeting system the day before. And now here he was, working on some paperwork that probably had to do with his job as Secretary of Defense.

As if Tony needed another title to squeeze in between CEO of an international company and superhero.

"You work too much," Steve told him.

Tony shrugged. "I want this out of the way," he explained. "Tonight is movie night in the Avengers Mansion and Scott picked _Blade Runner_."

Steve made a non-committal noise before he drained his glass.

"What?" Tony asked, raising his eyes from the files spread in front of him. "You're gonna be there, aren't you?"

Steve shrugged. He knew these movie nights weren't much about the movie itself but rather about spending some quiet time together without threats or super villains. He knew these moments were important, because they were few and far in-between. "I don't know," he said, going back to the counter where he'd left the orange juice and pouring himself another glass.

Tony sighed. "What is it, Steve?"

"It's just..." he trailed off, trying to find the right words to describe it. "I see faster," he said, finally.

"You... see faster," Tony echoed, but his tone was questioning.

"Yes, I," he scratched the back of his head, feeling embarrassed for apparently no reason. "The Super Soldier Serum gave me faster reflexes, and I..."

Realization dawned on Tony's face. "Oh," he said. "You mean, when you watch a movie you see it as if it was in slow motion."

"Well, not so slow," Steve said, "but yeah, basically. It's not so bad, but action movies are the worst. It's like the sound track and the images don't match. It gets jarring."

"Well, that sucks," Tony said.

Steve chuckled, despite himself. "Yeah, it does," he agreed. "But maybe I'll be there tonight, anyway."

"You don't have to," Tony told him.

"It's not that bad," he said. "There are worse things."

"Yeah," Tony muttered, "but it still sucks."

Steve thought that would be the end of that conversation, but evidently he was wrong as he discovered a week later.

There was a knock on his bedroom door and a second later Tony poked his head in. "Are you busy?" he asked.

Steve was lying on his bed, sketching some vague anatomy study, but his heart wasn't in it. He dropped his sketchpad on the bedside table and motioned Tony in.

"Not really," he said.

"Great," Tony grinned at him and came in, he was carrying a laptop under his arm, "because I've got an idea."

Steve grinned at Tony's obvious eagerness. "Have you, now?" he said, sitting up.

"No, stay there," Tony said, gesturing at him to stop, "I'll get the lights."

Steve frowned, bemused. "Okay."

The room went dark, the only source of light coming from the window. Tony climbed next to him on the bed and made himself comfortable, sitting up with his back against the headboard.

Steve observed him in silence as he opened the lid of the laptop and placed it on top of his thighs, angling it so that both of them could see.

Steve scooted closer. "What is it?" he asked.

"You'll see," Tony said with a smile.

Steve frowned at him for a moment, then he turned his attention back to the screen.

Tony clicked on something and a window popped up.

Steve let out a surprised laugh as he recognized the movie. "Laurel and Hardy?" he asked, turning to Tony.

"Hey, they're a classic," Tony said with a grin. "I didn't know your tastes in silent movies, so I had to improvise."

"It's fine," Steve said, turning back to the movie.

Despite the pleasant surprise, though, he still couldn't fathom why Tony was doing this. Steve never would have pictured him as a man who liked silent movies.

His breath caught when he noticed it. The images on the screen were moving seamlessly, without the hiccupping lag in the frames he'd become accustomed with after getting the Serum. He blinked at the screen, silently.

"I-" he started, but his throat was too tight for some reason. He swallowed and tried again, "I don't know what to say."

Tony scratched the back of his head. "I figured changing the frames per second ratio would fix your 'seeing faster' problem," he explained. "Silent movies aren't actually the best as they were shot with much less frames per second than modern movies, but we can watch them with the sound switched off, so--"

"Tony, you're babbling," he told him.

Tony closed his mouth with an almost audible snap and he looked down at his hands, staring as he flexed and twisted his fingers as if it was the most fascinating sight in the world.

Steve stared at him staring at his fingers for a moment and then he studied his face; the light from the laptop casting long shadows on his face, concealing his features.

There was a flash of white, the impression of blue as Tony darted him a nervous glance.

"Tony..."

Abruptly, Tony's hand shot forward to pause the movie. "Hey, if you don't like it, it's fine." he said evenly. His dismissive shrug was too stiff not to be forced, however, and his voice wobbled slightly on the 'fine'. "I just thought you might like to watch something that you could actually enjoy."

Tony made as if to close the laptop screen, but Steve stopped him with a hand on his wrist. Tony tensed, and Steve could see him frowning at him out of the corner of his eyes.

"Tony, this is..." he shook his head. "Thank you," he said finally, turning to smile at him. "Really."

Tony mirrored his smile. "You're welcome."

"But it must be too fast for you to keep up," he continued.

Tony shrugged his concerns away. "It's fine," he said. "I've seen it before."

"Me too."

"Yes, Steve," Tony said with a heavy sigh and an exaggerated roll of his eyes , as if Steve was being extremely dense, "but this is for you, okay? Just shut up and enjoy it."

Steve grinned. "Okay," he said, leaning back against the headboard and settling comfortably.

"I'm glad we reached an agreement," Tony said and pressed play.

"I didn't know you liked silent movies," Steve said after a long moment.

"_Metropolis_ used to be one of my favorite movies of all time."

"_Used to be_?" Steve repeated with a frown. "What changed?"

"It got too close to home for comfort," Tony replied.

Steve nodded and they watched the rest of the movie in silence.

Laurel and Hardy pictures didn't last long, Steve knew that, but he still felt somewhat cheated when the full screen mode disappeared and he was left staring at the logo of the media player.

Usually Tony took about three seconds to turn off his computer, but now he was taking his time, closing every single program window. He'd even emptied the little electronic trash bin before clicking on the shut down button on the bottom left of his computer screen. Steve couldn't help but smile; so Tony had enjoyed himself too, despite the fact that the images had to have moved too quickly for his non-enhanced sight.

Tony turned and smiled at him, as the laptop screen flashed blue and then went black. "We have to do this again, sometime," he said, breaking the silence.

They weren't empty words, Tony actually meant it. Returning the smile was no hardship. "Sure," Steve said.

Tony nodded absent-mindedly and Steve watched as he gathered his laptop and went for the door. "Hey," he called, and Tony turned. "Thanks."

Tony shrugged. "Hey, don't sweat it," he said. "It was nothing."

No, it wasn't. "Bring some Chaplin, next time," he told him.

"Sure," Tony said, his eyes flickering up to catch Steve’s for a second. "It's a date," he continued and then he was gone, leaving behind the impression of a smile.

A week later they were standing in the remains of the Avengers Mansion, and Steve completely forgot about their 'date'.

At least until Tony dropped down on the couch next to him, many months later, when the Avengers had become now the New Avengers, and when Stark Tower had become the Avengers Tower. When Tony had 'upgraded' from human being to human computer.

"Come on," Tony said, nudging him in the side with his elbow. "Move over."

Steve frowned at him, but complied. He watched as Tony settled next to him, stretching his legs so that his feet were propped on the coffee table.

Tony had a laptop with him and Steve didn't make the connection until he saw the images on the screen.

"_The Gold Rush_," he said.

"Yep," Tony said, flashing him a grin. He tapped two fingers against his temple, "now I see faster, too."

Peter came in when they were about halfway through the movie. He peered over their shoulders and stared at the screen for a long moment.

"You guys are weird," he said, before shaking his head and leaving.


End file.
